Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to online video and streaming services, and in particular to guiding viewers to particular videos on such services.
Description of the Related Art
Online systems store, index, and make available for consumption various forms of media content to Internet users. This content may take a variety of forms; in particular, video content, including streaming videos is widely available across the Internet. Online video systems allow users to view videos uploaded by other users.
Users can discover new content on online video systems via search. Typically, a user provides a search query and receives a list of videos as search results in return. These videos are usually ranked and presented to the user in an order based on the ranking. Higher-ranked videos are presented to users at more prominent positions than lower-ranked videos and more likely to attract users' visits. Among the search results for a search query, some videos include original content and are uploaded by content producers or partners; and some may use the original content and are uploaded by users who are not the content producers or partners. Videos that include original content are referred hereinafter as “original videos” and videos that are not created by original authors or creators but use the original content are referred hereinafter as “derivative videos.” In other words, a derivative video includes at least some media content (e.g., video, audio) of the original video. Derivative videos compete with original videos for users' views, interfere with playing of the original videos, and complicate users' searches for the original videos. As a result, it is useful to distinguish original videos from derivative videos to safeguard interests of users as well as the interests of the content producers.